The PNC’s Arts Alive program awarded $65,000 in grants to five Broward County arts organizations at the Broward Cultural Division's 2018 Annual Planning Forum, held at The Frank C. Ortis Art Gallery in the City…

By Andy Royston

The PNC’s Arts Alive program awarded $65,000 in grants to five Broward County arts organizations at the Broward Cultural Division’s 2018 Annual Planning Forum, held at The Frank C. Ortis Art Gallery in the City of Pembroke Pines, November 14th.

Dave Magaro, PNC’s Senior Vice President and Business Banking Sales Manager (far left), and Kristina West, VP Client & Community Relations Specialist (far right) were there to pay tribute to these exciting arts projects, and to present the grants checks in person.

PNC has now pledged $180,000 to area organizations since launching its three-year initiative in 2016 to support Broward County cultural arts. The non-profit winners represent a wide range of disciplines, audiences and participatory experiences from local arts groups’ large and small, city and suburban. The funding will allow them to increase access to visual and performing arts activities for the local community.

“We know what the arts can do for a community – from changing one’s perspectives on the world to creating new business. By funding quality arts programming, we’re supporting this $4 billion industry and keeping the arts alive in Florida.”Cressman Bronson, PNC regional president for southeast Florida.

Artists, cultural nonprofits and creative businesses that produce and distribute artistic or cultural goods and services are contributors to an area’s creative economy. A recent study by the Americans for the Arts found that nationally, the arts and cultural sector generated $166.3 billion in economic activity in 2015. Broward County’s Cultural Division has helped foster $28 million in capital investment and assisted in creating 462 new jobs since the start of 2018.

“The PNC Arts Alive grants have had a profound effect on the impact of culture in Broward County and have improved the quality of life and education through greater access to art, music and theater. We’re very grateful to PNC for its ongoing commitment to the arts and to this community.”Leslie Fordham, acting director of the Broward County Cultural Division

With hundreds of thousands of visitors attending arts and cultural organizations, Broward County is a magnet for cultural tourists and a rich landscape of cultural activities for all. As the official advocate for arts and culture in Broward, the Cultural Division provides grants, support services and promotes cultural tourism, benefitting the economy and job growth in the county.

PNC Arts Alive is a multi-year initiative of the PNC Foundation dedicated to supporting visual and performing arts groups with the goal of increasing arts access and engagement in new and innovative ways. The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group, actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. For more information, visit www.pncartsalive.com.

PNC ARTS ALIVE 2018 BROWARD COUNTY GRANT RECIPIENTS

Brazilian Voices $13,500- Arts4Life – September 2018-September 2019

Arts4Life project is an interactive musical performance of soothing melodies sung live in small groups to adult patients, pediatric patients and caregivers in cancer centers and other hospitals in Broward County. Their monthly visits will encourage both bedridden and chemotherapy patients to sing and play along with them, including Bossa Nova and American songs in both English and Portuguese. http://www.brazilianvoices.org/ @brazilianvoices

Coral Springs Museum of Art$12,500- All Around Art 2.0 – October 2018-May 2019

All Around Art continues to make diverse audiences of children and teachers think about the impact of art in their everyday lives. This comprehensive initiative provides the opportunity for 850 underserved elementary school students attending Title I schools in Broward County to experience a docent tour of the vast works of diverse artists exhibiting. @CoralSpringsMOA / https://coralspringsmuseum.org/

King: An Ode to the American Dream is an original multi-media musical production inspired by the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. An exciting element of the structure of this theatrical performance will be its ability to bring the production directly to underserved communities, encouraging gathering and dialogue at a micro-local level which can then be elevated to a larger community conversation. All include outreach and direct service to lower income, traditionally underserved audiences. https://www.flct.org/@FLCTstar

Grace Arts Center$11,250 – Shakespeare’s La Florida

Shakespeare’s La Florida marks the beginning and end of the famed English playwright’s career and the Age of Discovery when La Florida was found by a variety of colonial expeditions. The 2018-2019 season

will include elements of folkloric dance from the South Americas and coastal Spain with new classical Spanish guitar scores and a finale featuring 3-D storm and video-mapped dancers. The cast includes next-gen artists training at prestigious private and public schools, pairing seniors and graduates with leading professional actors, dancers, playwrights, musicians and visual artists on the stage. https://www.graceartscenter.org/

Changing Our World is a series of five concerts each based on a social justice issue, paired with an educational outreach program based on the same issue. Teaching artists from the SFCE present one fairy tale each month to students in VPK through the second grade and students with disabilities. Participants receive a storybook containing incomplete illustrations and must listen for the keywords during the narration in order to complete each illustration. As they work, musicians play music from that scene to help participants hear the mood of the passage. https://www.sfcemusic.com/